Wizards' Beal plans to 'keep mouth shut'

WASHINGTON – Given what he said during Game 3, Bradley Beal’s next halftime interview might be as bland as grits.

The Wizards guard guaranteed on CSN Mid-Atlantic that Chicago’s Mike Dunleavy “won't score in the second half.”

Dunleavy lit up the Wizards for 19 points – and 35 for the game.

“It was me pumping myself up and the rest of our team,” Beal explained Saturday. “I believe in our defensive concepts that if we want to stop somebody, we could. But he definitely proved me wrong, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”

Beal added that Dunleavy is “hands down a great shooter. We know they’ll test his temperature (Sunday in Game 4), but we have to do a lot better job chasing him. And the bigs have to help on screens and try to get the ball out of his hands.”

Wizards coach Randy Wittman said: “We messed up some assignments, but he made some (shots) where it didn’t matter what defense we had on him. Take your hat off to him.”